Bankers Life Fieldhouse was dressed up for the special occasion. Banners hung inside the building and blinding gold shirts were flung over each of the 18,165 seats. The anticipation could not have been higher, so it was an amazing sight Saturday when a little more than 5 minutes remained in this home playoff opener and fans walked out. Their backs turned to the court, a stream of gold tramping up the steps and toward the nearest exit.

But who could really blame them? The home team, the top seed in the Eastern Conference, had retreated long before then.

The Indiana Pacers dropped Game 1 of the first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks 101-93, looking every bit the team that stumbled into the playoffs.

"Of course I'm disappointed," said Paul George, who led Indiana with 24 points. "We know how they can play when they're on their A-game, and we should have expected that coming into this one.

"I just thought throughout the whole game, we had a couple bad bounces where they were able to rebound, made extra plays off that. A lot of stuff just didn't go our way."

The Pacers had their share of bad breaks — then again, the team that hustles more will get those timely long rebounds as the Hawks did for 14 second-chance points — but they lost because defenders could not decide where to compromise.

Allow Jeff Teague to get to the rim with ease? Leave 3-point shooters open on the perimeter? Or hack away and dare the referees to utilize their whistles?

But hey, it's only the playoffs, so why not go for the trifecta? And so the Pacers committed all three offenses — surrendering drives to Indianapolis' Teague as he scored a game-high 28, lazily closing out as the Hawks amassed 30 attempts, most of them good looks, beyond the arc and fouling to the extent that Atlanta made 24-of-29 free throws.

Though the Pacers entered halftime tied with Atlanta 50-50 after a sloppy end of the second quarter, the mistakes magnified in the third. Teague was relentless, the Hawks hit 3-of-6 from deep and the Pacers somehow afforded their jump-shooting rival 10 trips to the foul line. No wonder the Hawks poured on a 14-0 run through the middle of the quarter and by the fourth, many fans had seen enough.

"We didn't play nearly well enough to beat this basketball team," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said, "on either end of the court."

Pacers vs Hawks Press Conference

Even as several teammates gathered in their peaceful confines, away from the admonishing boos from the once-full arena, and discussed the game among themselves, there was no explanation for this result.

How, only two weeks after being embarrassed by this very team, could center Roy Hibbert play in concrete while his matchup, Pero Antic, had so much time beyond the 3-point line that he could hesitate before popping the shot and still have an open look? Antic's 3 gave the Hawks a controlling 16-9 lead in the first quarter. Even earlier than that, the Pacers struggled to close defensive possessions. After two offensive rebounds, the ball found an unaccounted for Paul Millsap outside the arc. George Hill was late and fouled Millsap to create the four-point play. Plays such as these flipped the momentum after the Pacers had energized the crowd with a 7-2 burst to open the game. Millsap finished with 25 points and eight rebounds.

"It's a long series. We'll make some adjustments," said David West, who sat early with two fouls and finished with eight points. "Obviously, we have to figure out (how) to keep Teague under control. We fouled way too much. I fouled way too much, early ones really set the tone to how we were going to play the game. We just had a bad rhythm because of the fouls."

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Pacers center Roy Hibbert is pressured by Atlanta Hawks center Pero Antic towards the end of the second half of Saturday's Eastern Conference playoff game against the Atlanta Hawks at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on April 19, 2014. The Pacers lost 93-108. Matt Detrich/The Star

Pacers guard Lance Stephenson, left, and teammate Pacers forward Paul George feel the game slipping away at the end of the second half of Saturday's Eastern Conference playoff game against the Atlanta Hawks at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on April 19, 2014. The Pacers lost 93-108. Matt Detrich/The Star

Pacers center Roy Hibbert talks to Andrew Bynum on the bench against the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs Saturday, April 19, 2014, at Banker Life Fieldhouse. Matt Kryger / The Star

Pacers head coach Frank Vogel whips up some strategy during a timeout in the first period of Saturday's Eastern Conference playoff game against the Atlanta Hawks at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on April 19, 2014. Matt Detrich/The Star

Pacers forward Luis Scola is slammed by Atlanta Hawks forward Elton Brand, left, and Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap as he drives to the hoop in the first period of Saturday's Eastern Conference playoff game against the Atlanta Hawks at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on April 19, 2014. Matt Detrich/The Star

Pacers forward Paul George gets Atlanta Hawks forward DeMarre Carroll to leave his feet in the lane in the first round of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs Saturday, April 19, 2014, at Banker Life Fieldhouse. Matt Kryger / The Star

Pacers guard C.J. Watson reacts to getting fouled on a three-point basket against the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs Saturday, April 19, 2014, at Banker Life Fieldhouse. Matt Kryger / The Star

Pacers forward David West acreams as he slam dunks the ball over Atlanta Hawks forward DeMarre Carroll in the first period of Saturday's Eastern Conference playoff game against the Atlanta Hawks at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on April 19, 2014. Matt Detrich/The Star

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Teague, the Pike High graduate who lit up the Pacers on April 6 for 25 points, found those same seams and lost Hill on his way to layups. In the third quarter, Teague was confident enough to roam and peruse the Pacers' gaps without repercussion.

All of the Hawks looked emboldened against the Pacers, even backup point guard Shelvin Mack took the high screen, made the pull-up 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, then pumped himself up while backing up on defense. Clearly, this confident eighth seed creates problems for a shaky No. 1 that does not look stable enough for the big moment.